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[lobosolo]

The annual walking holiday in Scotland is always the highlight of my year, and this year's was as good as ever. I stayed for a week with the usual gang, in a farmhouse they had rented somewhere north of Inverness. As last year, I drove up to Scotland a few days before joining them and did some walking and climbing on my own in an attempt to get at

Comments

[a_trick_mind]

It does look like perfect weather for hiking/climbing. I am glad you enjoyed yourself. Was it last year or the one previous that saw almost constant rain and cold weather?

Our heatwave finally broke and it is actually cool outside just now. What a far cry from the last few weeks. They do predict a return to blistering heat in a couple weeks so I suppose we shouldn't celebrate this cool spell just yet.

Excellent photo of you, by the way.

What is next on the agenda? More travel or is Mary going to put you to work doing chores around home once more?

[lobosolo]

The heatwave here has broken in a big way. It was fine and hot throughout July. Some people complained about the heat but Mary and I both love it. But now that August has arrived, the weather system has changed altogether and it's cold, windy and wet. Definitely not the right conditions for climbing mountains. I was very lucky to be in Scotland last week and not a week later.

Our next trip will be to Spain later this month. There's a math congress in Madrid (though now I'm retired I won't take it too seriously, and I'm likely to be art galleries more often than in lecture theatres), and then we're going to drive slowly down to Seville (stopping off in Toledo and other places) to stay with Steve and family.

[cool_moose]

Great post and pictures, Chris. Scotland always reminds me of the open spaces in Canada - Maybe that's why we have so many Scots in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland & PEI. They feel at home on our sparsely populated land.

Sandra and I just got back from playing grandparents in Ontario & Quebec - it's so nice to walk outside to get cool here (in sunny, dry, cool Vancouver) after the 96F yesterday in Toronto.

[lobosolo]

When we visit Canada, Mary always comments on the number of redheaded people she sees, presumably evidence of Scottish genes.

We're looking forward to playing grandparents when we visit the family in Spain next month.